American Bulldog History & Information

American Bulldog History & Information

Standard/ Performance American Bulldogs

The Standard type is athletic and very muscular with their front legs under the body, as opposed to the classic type which can sometimes have the legs thrown out to the side. The standard is very agile and structurally sound, they should have high prey drive with a longer working muzzle with a slight under bite. The best known lines are Scott, Hines, Leclerc, Koura, Stover and Williamson.

The “Performance” Standard is usually smaller in size and was originally used for dog fighting in 1970’s. The most famous lines are Painter and Margentina. Today these types excel at a variety of sport disciplines including Schutzhund.

The Old Southern White also referred to as “White English” was the original country dog and was the raw ingredient used by the likes of Scott, JDJ and others, as part of their foundation.

This type of bulldog was smaller in size but was renowned as an excellent catch dog and all round utility dog with high prey drive.

Classic/ Bully American Bulldogs

The Classic/Bully type resembles an athletic, tightly built white mastiff, that is larger, wider with more bone and has a shorter muzzle with a more under shot bite than the standard.

In the 1970’s J.D Johnson (JDJ) bred his American Bulldogs back to English Bulldogs with famous Johnson foundation dogs such as Incredible Mean Machine which was 30% English Bulldog. This played a part in the classic American Bulldog becoming less athletic and more bully in appearance.

In 1998 John D. Johnson branched away from this larger, heavier type of bulldog and created the JDJ Bulldog which was a tall dog with a Standard body type and Bully Head.

Hybrid American Bulldogs

A mixture of the above. The Classic Bulldog is usually less guardy and can sometimes be lazy, but when mixed with the standard type can add size and bone which can be more suitable for a particular work function.

PDK Programme Goals:

Sufficient size and structure to fulfil a security role.

Healthy, robust animal that is structurally sound and can withstand an active working career (Hipscore Under 12).

Must be in proportion with no exaggerated characteristics and must display stamina and endurance as well as strength.

Sound temperament, sociable with friends and aloof with strangers.

Good tolerance to pressure/stress.

Males 25-26″ tts 100-120lb Females: 24-26” tts 80-100lb.

A line that produces true to type.

PDK strive to produce a line of working american bulldogs, that is versatile, reliable, healthy and reproduce true to the line, with minimal variance in both mental and physical type.

A Working Bulldog must sprint with the conviction of a terrier, be as agile as a shepherd and possess the power of a Mastiff”